ICWMMN200B Proceedings
A cost effective approach on Railway Vehicle
Identification and Positioning using RFID technology
Ir CS Chang
(1)Ascent Dynamic Consultants Co Limited, Hong Kong
(2) City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Keywords Active RFID, Vehicle Detection
Abstract
Detecting and reporting vehicle positions in light rail /
tramway operation is always a challenge to the railway
design engineers as most, if not all, light rail systems do
not possess continuous signalling system in tracking the
vehicle (train) positions for obvious reasons. However,
accurate reporting of vehicle position is important for
certain light rail applications, such as Passenger
Information Display system which advises
passengers which and when the next vehicle will arrive
at a particular stop. As light rail network normally
comprises of many stops (stations), cost effective yet
proven technology is a basic and essential requirement
for such application. The authors have jointly developed
a system employing low cost active RFID technology to
perform vehicle identification and positioning.
system is being used in one of the busiest light rail
networks in the world and is proved to be a very cost
effective solution for this type of applications.
This paper describes the common issues encountered in
light rail /tramway operations and the design of the
vehicle detection system using active RFID technology
to address the identified problems. The benefits that this
technology is bringing to end users are discussed in this
paper. Towards the end, the authors will also highlight
other applications of this technology in the railway
environment.
I. Introduction
Active RFID and passive RFID technologies are
being applied to many applications in our daily lives.
The main difference between them is that the tag of
active RFID is continuously powered through a power
source; whereas the tag of passive RFID is powered by
RF energy transferred from the reader to the tag when
the tag is passing through the reader. As such, the
operational characteristic & performance,
communication range and the response time of the
passive RFID technology may not meet
requirements in railway vehicle detection. The authors
thus develop a Railway Vehicle Identification (RVI)
system based on active RFID technology for light rail /
tramway vehicle operated at normal civil speed. The
RVI system has been successfully implemented in the
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(l) ( 2)
and Ir Dr KF Tsang
Hong Kong MTR Light Rail system, one of the busiest
light rail networks in the world. This paper introduces
the approach adopted in this RVI system including its
design and development. The application in MTR Light
Rail network is described to illustrate the capability of
the RV[ and the problems encountered. With such
system installed in the light rail network, the authors
will also share with the readers other value added
applications that this technology can bring to the railway
operators and maintainers.
the
II. System Overview
The Railway Vehicle Identification (RV[) system
is designed to operate in the railway environment to
identify vehicle arriving at and / or departing from
platforms where continuous signalling system is not
justified to be installed. The system reports the positive
This identity of the vehicle to the controllers for various
applications, such as Traffic and Passenger Information
Display System, Vehicle Maintenance System, Vehicle
Location/Positioning System. The identity of each
vehicle is transmitted from an active RF Tag mounted
underneath the vehicle and received by the RF Readers
mounted alongside the tracks, normally on the sleepers
or in a draw-pit for the paved track area.
The Tag is designed to transmit the identity of
vehicle as part of the RVI system. Each vehicle is
equipped with an active Tag which is mounted right
underneath the boogie of the vehicle. [t continues to
transmit the identity of the corresponding vehicle to the
Readers located at a regular time interval. The radio
frequency (RF ) based Reader is designed to collect the
vehicle identity sent from the Tags. The Reader is
mounted in the middle of the track and connected to a
computer control system installed in the stop through a
serial link. Once the Reader receives the vehicle identity
from the Tag, the Reader will report the associated
vehicle arrival or departure information to the control
system. The control system will then capture the data for
further processing.
the
At each stop, a Reader is installed at the arrival
the
end of a platform, for reporting the arrival of a railway
vehicle for the platform; while another Reader is
installed at the departure end of the platform, for
reporting the departure of a vehicle from the platform.
The location configuration of the Readers within a stop
is shown in Figure l.
490
 Figure 2 Emulating vehicle passage at a railway stop

Signal Strength of Opposite Platform

180
Figure 1 RVI system at railway stop
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III. Application Evaluation CI 120 '11 -c-:. ...� ... PlaLl()lm B

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To design the RV[ system, the characteristics of on

V) v-:: t�...Uf'
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the signal strength for the movement of a vehicle over 80
�-

the whole detection zone of a Reader is measured and

Time
analysed. For the evaluation process, a Tag (emulating
vehicle passage through a stop) is manually carried over Figure 3 Signal strength characteristics of the vehicle

the Readers installed on the track of Platform A (referred passage

to Figure 2 and defmed as forward direction) and then
carried over the track of Platform B (opposite platform, From the results shown in Figure 3, it is found that
defined as backward direction) several times. The both Reader 1 and Reader 2 receive a high level of SQL
Readers are installed on Platform A only so as to collect when a Tag passes through Platform A. However, when

the signal strength data from the Tag in both forward a Tag passes through Platform B (adjacent track), both

direction and backward direction. The results of signal Readers receive much lower SQL. Based on repetitive
strength received by the Readers are shown in Figure 3. verification and validation, the threshold value of SQL
[n our calculation, the signal strength is represented by for vehicle detection is thus defined.
Signal Quality Level (SQL), where:
IV. Antenna Design

In the RVI system, an F antenna is designed for

_ 255 - SQL the Tag to Reader communication. Figure 4 shows the
SignaIStrength(dBi)=
2 geometry of the F antenna. The antenna is fed by a
C PWG feed line. The antenna consists of a rectangular
ground plane (L x W 23 x 34 mm2) and an F -shape
=

patch. The design of the antenna is validated through

simulation using the Ansoft High Frequency Structure
Simulator (HF SS) [2].

491

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 34mm Humidity Range (non-condensing) 0-95%
EI Safety EN 60 950 - 1 :2006
Vibration EN6l373

1
Ingress Protection (EN 60529) IP 66 & IP67
Impact Resistance (EN 62262) IK08
(�>---x UV resistance UL508
Flammability Rating (UL746 C 5) UL94 5V
Chemical Resistance Oil, grease Resistant
34mm
Petrol Resistant
Tri-chloro-ethylene
Resistant
Acid Resistant
Alkali (bases) Resistant

Figure 4 Geometry of the F antenna

V. System Design

The design of the RVI system also takes the

characteristics of the railway operation into
consideration. The RVI system is interfaced to a
computer control system provided by MTR via a serial
connection whereby the train arrival and departure
information will be passed from RVI to the control
system within one second. The control system will then
process the train identity and position data for the
subsequent information display.

A block diagram showing the various components

of the RVI system is shown in Figure 5 and Figure 6
shows the physical configuration of the Reader and Tag
for the actual site testing of the RVI system using
moving railway vehicle.

Railway Applications: Traffic and Passenger Information

System, Maintenance System, Vehicles Location/Positioning
System, etc.

Central Computing Unit Figure 6 RVI system testing in MTR Light-Rail

(Decision Logic, System
Management) network in Hong Kong

VI. Problems encountered

During the design and testing of the RVI system
for MTR Light Rail network, a number of problems
were identified and solutions were sought. These
Figure 5 System block diagram of RVI system problems include :
a. Cracks on the Reader housing located in the
Moreover, the design of Readers and Tags has to draw-pits;
fulfil the stringent environmental requirements for b. Size and weight of the Tag housing mounted
railway applications. The Readers and Tags have to underneath the boogie;
meet the specifications on environmental conditions c. Quality of the power supply to the Tag causing
including operating temperature /humidity, EI safety, reliability issue;
vibration, signal radiation, water ingress protection, d. Location of the Reader installation in
impact resistance, UV resistance and flammability. maximising the reader performance (especially
Details of these specifications are shown in Table 1 on curved platforms); and
below. e. Interface with the Control Computer System on
the health status of RVI.
Table 1 Environmental Specifications of Readers and A lot of these problems were resolved jointly
Tags with the operators and maintainers in seeking the
I Operating Temperature I 0-60°C optimal solutions to address the geographical or

492

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 physical constraints imposed on the RVI.
Comprehensive on-site measurements and subsequent Ir C. S. Chang obtained a BSc degree in Electrical
laboratory analyses are performed in order to ensure the Engineering from the University of Hong Kong and
RVI installed for more than 100 vehicles in 68 stops is an MBA degree from Chinese University of Hong
functioning properly to serve some 400,000 passengers Kong. He has worked in France for the
every day. development of the software which was used in the
MTRC Island Line Train Control System. Since
VII. Value-added Applications then, he has been working as a project manager on
various multi-disciplinary controls, communication
With the installation of the RFID readers on the
and signalling projects for both the metro railways
trackside and Tags underneath each vehicle, condition
and light rail network for MTR. He is now the
based monitoring function on board of the vehicle can
Associate Director in Ascent Dynamic Consultants.
be performed and data collected can be on-line
CS is currently the Chairman of the CAl Division
transmitted to the Control Centre via this RFID system.
of HKIE and the Council Member of IET.
This would include the temperature of the critical
components of the vehicle, the power supply status of 2 Ir Dr K. F. Tsang obtained the Ph.D. from the
the key circuitries, the status of the communication University of Wales, College of Cardiff. During
systems, the passenger information system and the \983-88, he has been a Research Assistant and a
public announcement system on board of the vehicle. Product Executive. In March 1988, he joined the
This would certainly assist the controller in the Control City University of Hong Kong as a Lecturer. Dr.
Centre to "predict" any potential failures and to timely Tsang is now an Associate Professor in the
take any necessary actions to overcome the problems so Department of Electronic Engineering. His current
as to minimise the impacts to the operation of the research interests include radio frequency ASIC
railway. This is of utmost importance to Light Rail / design, RFID technology for railway, ZigBee
Tramway network whereby operating and maintenance systems for building and office automation, smart
resource deployment is usually lean and mean. energy system for energy auditing and management
The accurate identification of the vehicle position and WiMax systems.
over a pre-defined point in the network through the RVI
is of benefit to the Light Rail operation when a function
is required to be triggered every time a vehicle of a
particular type (route, configuration, etc) passes through
that point. This is not uncommon in Light Rail
operation.

Conclusion

The RVI system was tested in the MTR Light-Rail

system in Hong Kong and the system performance was
found to be robust and accurate. The system can be
further applied to numerous applications, including
Condition-based Monitoring System and Vehicle
Location/Positioning System. In addition, the costs for
each Reader and Tag are relatively inexpensive despite
they have been designed to meet the stringent
environmental and railway standards. The cost-effective
and yet robust RVI system thus provides an
unprecedented high performance solution to light rail
and tramway operation with positive vehicle
identification and positioning together with value added
functions to the railway operators and maintainers.

VIII. References

[I]. Savi Technologies, "Active and Passive RFID: Two

Distinct, But Complementary Technologies for
Real-Time Supply Chain Visibility," White Papers,
Webcasts and Case Studies - ZDNet. January 2002.
[2]. HF SS, High- Frequency Structure Simulator, Ansoft
Corporation.

IX. Biographies

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